The background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
Orthopaedic spinal defects can be either congenial or can develop later in life because of trauma or ageing causing damage/degeneration of spinal bones. They may also develop on account of bad posture. Conservative care can generally be the first option for treatment of such spinal defects. However, it may always not give the best results and intervention through corrective surgery may have to be resorted to.
Spinal surgeries typically require packing of intervertebral space for stabilizing a disc with the intention of fusing vertebras, creating an artificial disc or regeneration of the disc using stem cells or such similar materials. This may be preceded by removal of herniated/bulging disc material that may be pressing a nerve root/spinal cord or total removal of the disc. The disk will have an empty space, after partial or near total discectomy. The empty space may also result from trauma or degeneration. Similar empty space may result in the vertebral body/bone from trauma, degeneration, or surgery and all such cases require packing of empty space.
Many biocompatible and bio-absorbable materials such as collagen fibers, silk fibers, collagen gels, cements, Plaster of Paris, etc. have been developed to meet such surgical requirements. But just matching the mechanical properties especially in musculoskeletal system is not sufficient for efficient load transfer. The host tissues must successfully integrate with these materials and vascularize. Further these materials are suitable either for packing intervertebral space or empty space in vertebral body/bone. It is required to have a packing material that can be used both for process of bone implantation and also for inter vertebral disc and mimic the physiological and the biomechanical function of the replaced disc.